Nothing is Ever Certain
by TheWerewolfHeadmistress
Summary: Anna and Charles are beginning a great life together. Neither are something the other expected, nor is the latest struggle for the Marrok and the rest of the Aspen Creek pack. Meanwhile, Anna realizes a problem that will surprise them all. And the solution to these problems may be closer to home than they know. Anna/Charles
1. Howl

**This is my first attempt at a fanfic. I chose Alpha and Omega because Mercy and Adam have a lot more out there than Anna and Charles. This is the first chapter, I have more to come if requested. Please review and let me know how you like it.**

**Disclaimer: None of the A&O or Mercy Thompson characters belong to me. That would be the privilege of Patricia Briggs. I just wanted to share a story I wouldn't mind hearing for Charles and Anna.**

_"I held it in but now it seems you set it running free. Screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart."_

_- Howl, Florence + the Machine_

**Chapter 1**

Anna's life turned upside down when Charles came to Chicago. It had improved in every possible way. Everything she thought she knew about being a wolf, which hadn't been much, had turned out to be half-truths and mostly wrong. And there were so many things that she just didn't know. But to escape the abuse, the constant fear, it had been a Godsend. Becoming Charles' mate had been a bonus; A bonus Anna hadn't even hoped for. It scared her at first, being that the only wolves she'd ever known had been cruel to her. But Charles was so gentle and so understanding. She loved her mate. And now she had a pack. A real one, not the distorted madhouse Leo had so haphazardly held together to suffice his mentally failing mate. In the midst of all this, she'd fallen in love, her nightmares had started subsiding and she'd learned that she was an Omega.

Having to fight that witch with Charles a few months ago had really helped her come into her capabilities as one. She didn't like to admit that the ordeal had helped her in any way, but as horrible as it was, it did help them. It had been that situation that tested both their abilities and sealed their mating bond. Now that she's starting to come into herself, it's easier to help Bran deal with the unruly wolves that they've had flowing in like a steady stream. It's the worst possible time for so many wolves to be having control issues and it was rather unnatural. For most new wolves, a little nudge in the right direction made controlling their wolf an instinct.

"Now, Nathaniel... Don't you worry about those boys back there." Anna said calmly to the growling wolf, referring to Bran and Charles at her back. She had told them she was fine with the wolf, but they would hear none of it. She should've insisted that if Bran was gonna wake her up in the early morning hours for this, she should get to do it her way. But there's just no arguing with those two.

"They're just here to make sure you don't hurt me, but you would never hurt me, would you?" she said in the motherly tone she took with the wolves.

The wolf looked up at her in admiration, growled once more at Charles and then Bran in turn, and then stretched out at her feet. She rubbed his belly, which earned her a growl from Charles and what sounded like a snicker from Bran. She shot them both a look and they both quieted down.

"How long has his wolf been in control like this?" she asked Bran.

"We're not entirely sure but at least four days. He's been here for two. It took a bit of convincing to get Charles to let me ask you to deal with a wolf this size." Bran said pointedly.

She glared at Charles. "You mean you let this poor guy stay like this for two more days than he needed to because you didn't want your wife, whose been a wolf longer and has a natural knack for calming wolves, around him?" Charles just stood stone faced but she could swear she saw shame pass through eyes. She looked back to Bran and said, "How do we know his name's Nathaniel?"

"He wears pet ID tag like Samuel. I called his Alpha to find out who was either cocky or stupid enough to wear the tag name 'Varg' and he told me it had to be Nathaniel. It's lucky most Americans don't know Swedish for wolf when they see it."

Anna stifled a giggle. "He seriously made his tag name 'wolf' in Swedish? I thought the idea of a pet ID tag was to fool humans into thinking that we're just big dogs?"

"Yes. It's hilarious," said Bran, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Anna could swear she saw "Varg" wink. "Fooling humans is the general idea. I guess this one's is gonna be just as much trouble whether it's him or the wolf in control."

Anna threw her head back and laughed. Grabbing his scruff playfully, she told him to behave himself because she had other work to do. Then she stood up, dusted off her clothes, threw Charles one last, less angry look and went back up stairs.

Bran clapped Charles on the shoulder and smiled to himself. Charles just shook his head and followed the love of his life up the stairs. When he and Bran made it to the kitchen, Anna was already started on a huge egg, bacon and sausage breakfast. Although, there were only five of them in the house, and one was a wolf, the full moon was only a few days away. They're always hungrier closer to the change. And they were werewolves after all. They sat at the island and talked with Anna while she cooked. Leah came in while Anna was cooking, made some snide remark about another woman cooking in her kitchen, grabbed some food and coffee and went back to her room. Anna put platefuls of food in front of each man and than joined them herself, pretending she hadn't heard Leah's clip at her. She'd learned quickly that it was just easier to ignore her.

"It's not like she ever cooks in it." Charles said, sarcastically. Anna laughed and nearly choked on her orange juice. And they continued that way, eating and laughing, until Bran's phone rang. The person on the other end didn't speak loudly, but you don't have to with werewolves. No such thing as private phone call with wolves in the room. There was another uncontrollable wolf. Bran strode out of the room, leaving Charles and Anna to their breakfast.

"It doesn't seem normal for so many of us to be unable to control the wolf." Anna said to Charles, conversationally. Charles looked at her, underestimating how perceptive she could be… again. In a much more serious tone, he looked at her and said, "It's not."

"What could send wolves out of control like that? They're obviously new wolves with that much of a lack of control. Even Alphas don't have that kind of control over another's wolf." she asked. He just hung and shook his head and said, "We have no idea."


	2. Your man

"_I can't believe how much it turns me on, just to be your man."_

_-Your man, Josh Turner_

**Chapter 2**

** "**What do you mean, you have no idea? You don't at least have theories?" Anna asked incredulously.

"Of course, we have theories, Anna!" Charles shouted but immediately softened when he saw Anna flinch. Brother Wolf was angry because Anna was scared of him. But Charles knew that it wasn't him that Anna feared. She'd lived a horrible, fear-driven life for three years before him. It still angered Brother Wolf, but he had to make concessions for Anna. "I'm sorry, Anna. Yes, we have many theories. But every time we think we've found one that fits, we hit another roadblock. Something doesn't fit, or isn't possible. We have nothing in stone to go on."

The air was thick with tension, but mostly Charles'. She shouldn't have reacted that way to his stress. She didn't want any more on him than he already had. Anna stood up to walk over to comfort Charles, to tell him that he need not feel bad for raising his voice. Everyone reacts differently to stress.

"You can talk to me, you know? We're married. This is a partnership. Let me handle some of your load. The burden doesn't have to be yours alone to carry. I won't break. Let me help you." Anna soothed Charles with her words. It always blew him away how strong Anna was even after everything Leo did to break her. He took her face in his hands and gazed into her knowing eyes."You amaze me, you know?" She gave him a small smile and shied away.

"I just want to help you. You're not alone anymore."

"I know. This is really getting to Da and I. Wolves shouldn't be going crazy like this, and so often." Charles said, running his fingers through his long, dark hair. God, he's gorgeous, Anna thought to herself. She caught herself staring, but Charles caught her before she could look away.

Charles chuckled and asked, "What's on your mind?"

"Oh nothing. Just thinking how you really just need to clear your mind and relax a bit." Anna said, a small smile coming to her lips.

Charles looked at her, a little confused. "I take it you have an idea as to how to accomplish that?"

Anna smiled, walked over to her mate, leaning in closer than necessary. She picked up their plates to place them in the sink, putting extra emphasis on the sway of her hips. She hummed a song and while she washed the dishes from breakfast. When she was placing the last dish on the drying rack, Charles came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, immediately halting her dance. He loomed over her, which six months ago, would've terrified her. But Charles made her feel safe. Safe and desired.

"You're so beautiful." Charles said, his face buried in her whiskey-colored hair. They stood that way for a few moments. Bran reentered the room, and tried to discretely walk back once he realized he'd been interrupting. But Anna caught him and told him to come eat. She popped his food in the microwave.

"You two go." Anna opened her mouth to object but Bran stopped her. "I can get food out of the microwave. Go."

Charles then started pulling Anna away from his father. Once out of Bran's eye shot, Anna abruptly spun and threw her arms around Charles's neck. She kissed him hard, pushing him against the wall. Charles growled in appreciation. Anna pulled away flushed, grabbed him by the collar of his coat, and led him to the front door.

The drive home was a tense one. Not an awkward one, the heat in the cab of the truck was thick enough to cut with a knife. They pulled into the drive, and Charles suddenly covered her mouth with his. They held each other like that until Anna tried to climb over the gearshift and smacked her knee on the stick. Her resulting yelp brought them both back down to earth.

"We should get inside." whispered Anna, her breathing heavy.

"Yeah." breathed Charles, his own voice growing husky with need.

They finally pull apart, and stumble inside never leaving each others embrace. Throwing off coats and kicking off shoes as they made their way to the bedroom. Before they could make it there, Anna pulled Charles down on the couch. Charles tried to pull back up, but Anna pulled him back down. He laughed and managed, "Bed... Room..." in between kisses. Anna just grunted into his kiss and he laid back down next to her. She rolled over on top of him and straddled him. She pulled her navy blue v-necked sweater over her head. She looked down at Charles's piercing gaze, wearing only gray slacks and a black lace camisole. She then began to work on the buttons on Charles's deep red button up shirt. She spread it open and laid kisses down his chest until she got to his belt, which she slowly unbuckled, locking her gaze on Charles. She unbuttoned his fly, and moments later he was naked beneath her, with her in only a black lace thong. She teased, grinding against him. He rubbed her center with the palm of his large hand. She moaned, rocking into his hand. She looked into his heavy lidded gaze, and without breaking eye contact, slid her panties to the side and gently slid his dick into her waiting womanhood. She rolled her body, grinding into him. Then she began to ride him fast and hard until they both screamed in release.

She collapsed on top of Charles, her breathing heavy and her body shaking from the aftershocks of their encounter. Charles laughed and slapped him playfully because his laughter had cause his cock to flex inside her. And she was still recovering from her orgasm. This made him laugh more and she jumped up and fell to the floor. Charles sat on one elbow and looked down at his giggling bride. She caught his stare and looked confused.

"What?"

"That was definitely an interesting distraction. My head wasn't exactly clear, though." He eyed her inquisitively.

The look of disappointment on her face made him come clean. "But I certainly didn't mind replacing worry with the euphoric of my beautiful wife riding me." he said, gauging her reaction. She didn't disappoint. She blushed scarlet at his uncharacteristically crude words.

"Well, I was hoping to help with both of our frustrations." she admitted, shyly. Charles sat up, suddenly concerned. "Oh stop hovering. I just meant that we haven't had a lot of time alone lately." she conceded.

Understanding dawned on Charles's face, and he smiled, "Oh."

He crept down and started tickling her, but they were interrupted by a ringing cell phone. He let the first one go to voicemail because he'd busied himself with planting kisses down Anna's throat. When they immediately called back, Charles stopped nuzzling her and reached over her to his phone in his jeans on the couch. He then rolled back to the floor next to Anna and looked directly at her while he answered the phone.

"You better get back here. Nathaniel's back in control and we've got a bigger problem than we thought."


	3. Everything is not as it seems

_"Be careful not to mess with the balance of things_

_Because everything is not...what it seems "_

_-Selena Gomez, Everything is not as it seems_

**Chapter 3**

Charles and Anna got up, cleaned up and were redressed and on the way back out to Bran's in fifteen minutes. They pulled into the drive, Charles pushed a button on a remote and they pulled the rest of the way into the garage. Once through the door in the garage, they shucked off their coats and stomped snow from their feet. They met Bran as he was coming out of his office and Charles wasted no time.

"Da, what's going on?" Bran looked up to meet Charles's stare, worry apparent on his beautiful face. He smiled at Anna, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Come with me." He gestured to the basement door in the kitchen. The basement was where Bran had his safe rooms. All alpha wolves had a safe room of some capacity in their homes. Safe rooms were designed with tight specifications. Specifications to make a room strong enough to withstand an out of control werewolf. Bran's safe room was the toughest of all since he, being the Marrok, had to deal with the worst wolves. This safe room had silver embedded studs alternating with silver bars in the plaster of the walls. The door was made of reinforced steel, with silver coated bars on the windows and a military grade key less deadbolt. There were no windows other than the ones in the door. All of the furniture was bolted to the concrete floor and into the silver bars in the walls. Bran also kept universal clothing in the dresser such as sweat pants, t shirts and wool socks.

They followed Bran down the stairs and walked around the corner. In the place of the gorgeous silver and white wolf she'd left in the early morning hours, Anna came face to face with a tall, lanky man with pale skin and long dark red hair. Emerald green eyes sat over a proud nose dusted with freckles. His full lips fixed in a smirk on a squared jaw. His freckles also made an appearance across his slightly muscled shoulders. He looked small but like with all werewolves, looks can be deceiving. Modesty isn't a common quality among werewolves as a rule, but this Nathaniel had no qualms about standing there in all his god given glory, not bothering to dress, though there was clothing readily available.

"Okay. What's the issue? He's shifted back, that's a good thing." Charles said, not taking his eyes off of the new wolf who had taken to shamelessly flirting with Sage. Charles didn't let people know but he really cared for Sage.

"The issue is we assumed that these were all newly changed wolves that hadn't had the control to shift back. It seemed the most logical and much less troubling explanation that I was fine with. Until I found out that Nathaniel here was a private in World War II just before he was changed." Anna and Charles both stared Bran in disbelief. They stood in silence like that for a while. It was Nathaniel that broke the lull once he realized how quiet the three of them had become. "Why are we staring at Bran like he's sprouted another head that's bent on world domination?"

His strange comment woke Anna from her stupor. She shook herself and asked, "How could a wolf so old lose control like that?"

"That would be the crux of problem it seems. I thought so too until I spoke with Nathaniel." Bran replied, gesturing towards the still nude man in the room.

"Hallå, Anna. Hallå, Charles." Nathaniel greeted each of them in Swedish. More curtly with Charles than Anna. "Nathaniel." Charles nodded at him. "Hello, Nathaniel. Feeling better?" Anna asked sweetly. "Anna, please. Call me Nate. Nathaniel makes me feel so old fashioned. And I'm feeling much better. Thanks, in large part, to you." he said, pressing his lips to Anna's knuckles but looking at Charles."I take it your friend back there doesn't care for me." Nate gestured toward Charles at Anna's back.

"Nate, Charles is my mate and my husband. You stop picking at him. You wouldn't like him when he's angry." Anna chided, jokingly. Bran suppressed a smile and Nate's eyes glittered playfully. He smirked at Charles. "Alright then, Bruce Banner, don't get your feathers in a twist. Paws off, I get it." he said, holding up his hands in truce. "You're a lucky man, Charles Cornick." Nate finished, winking at Anna.

"So, what happened, Nate?" Anna asked. "I'm not sure. One moment I'm standing in line at the bank, the next I'm having to haul ass outside because the change has started. I was totally out of control. It's like a switch was flipped in my head. Quick and without warning." Charles and Bran exchanged a look. They must have come to some silent understanding because they didn't speak.

"Has this happened before?" Anna asked no one in particular.

"Not that we know of." admitted Bran.

"This is the only case? Ever? So all these other wolves haven't experienced what Nate has?"

Charles answered this time. "We don't know." Anna appeared puzzled. "Nathaniel's the only one that's shifted back and Da couldn't get through to him or any of the others. We haven't been able to talk to any of them to ask. They've all lost total control and Da and I have had to deal with them."

"Then it's lucky Nate was older and had better control." Anna said, smiling at Nate.

"Lucky for him, maybe." Charles muttered.

"What do you mean?"

Bran answered this time. "It was lucky for Nate because he's survived this ordeal. It's bad news for us. Someone is not only influencing our control, but is being able to influence older, more powerful wolves to the point of a forced change. This is terrible for us from a media standpoint this close to the reveal, from a safety standpoint for all humans involved with us, and as a pack and a family. Many spells can push slight influence on a wolf, but to render one of us, not to mention an old one like Nate, powerless with our wolves... that requires pack bonds and clout. Powerful bonds. Powerful clout."

This means one of their own was doing or helping do this to them. This is a much bigger problem than we earlier suspected. A much bigger, scarier, and more devastating problem than they ever could've conceived.


	4. Superstition

_Very superstitious, wash your face and hands, Rid me of the problem, do all that you can"_

_-Superstition, Stevie Wonder_

**Chapter 4**

Three days later, the full moon came and went. Anna hated those three days a month. She preferred PMS to the shift every wolf had to make under a full moon. She didn't like the way it made her ridiculously hungry. She didn't like the way it made her irritable and easier to set off. She hated the actual change. It was painful and took forever. Most of all, she hated the monster she was forced to become.

Having Charles had helped a lot. He made her see the benefits of being a wolf. He helped her hone her senses. Helped her see that it's not all bad. She did get Charles for the rest of her life, which was another perk. She would live as long as her will and her heart allowed. The best part of full moon shifts with Charles for her, was coming home, cleaning up and being able to climb into bed with her husband and help him and herself soothe the most primal of their instincts aside from the hunt. They made love almost every night that week. Unfortunately, after the full moon ended, there were so many rogue wolves , they hardly had time to eat and sleep, nevertheless have sex. Anna calmed the ones she could, Charles or Bran took care of the ones she couldn't. Thankfully, it had only been two that she hadn't helped regain control. At the end of three weeks, she had helped save nineteen wolves.

Time had flown by and by the time she'd slowed down long enough to think about her lack of a love life with Charles, the full moon was upon them again. Dread filled her head and stomach turned in knots. She had to force her lunch back down. She needed to get a hold on herself. One would think that after over three years of doing this once a month, she'd be dealing with it better. She took a few deep breaths and walked upstairs to her husband and father-in-law. They were quietly discussing our issues, though they hadn't come any closer to an answer.

_"At least I'll get some time with Charles"_ she thought to herself. The idea alone had her aroused. Then, as if they'd heard her thoughts, they both looked over, sniffed the air, and realization dawned on their faces. The act was so in sync, it was almost comical. Their expressions following, however, were very different. Bran simply smiled to himself and walked into his office after patting Charles on the shoulder as a gesture of understanding. Charles, on the other hand, appeared as if he was trying to look into her as opposed to at her. The look in his eyes was a hunger bordering on carnal. It made her squirm a bit, which only made his gaze darken with need. The wolf was right on the surface and she knew not to look him directly in the eye.

"Charles.." She turned her head down and to the side, moving her hair with her hand, exposing her throat to him. He stalked towards her and buried his face in her neck, trailing kisses up her neck to her mouth. The kiss was light at first, then deepened into something more primal and desperate. It was only when Anna moaned, that Charles came back to himself. He placed a hand on either side of her face, leaned his forehead to hers, relishing the idea of losing contact with her soft flesh. They were both breathing heavily, trying to compose themselves. Finally, Charles leaned in near her ear and whispered, "Tonight." His one word was laced with so much promise it made Anna's knees weak. He kissed her forehead and finally broke away. They did have more pressing matters, after all.

Charles went back in his father's office. Anna went to the downstairs bathroom to splash water on her face. She had to get her emotions in check. Her emotions and her hormones. But it was impossible when she was around him. Sometimes, he was the weight holding her down; he was the gilded cage protecting her from the outside world. Other times, he was like kerosene thrown on the flames of her soul. It was a surreal feeling. As if he could set her soul on fire and all the while protect her from being burned.

There were days when he made her her feel a little too much like that caged bird. She didn't really mind. She'd rather be overprotected than abused. Charles made her feel cherished and irreplaceable, which was a drastic difference from her being beaten, raped, and controlled. Things were so good with him that when Anna thought of her life before the last year, it was as if someone else had lived it. She couldn't picture any life but this one.

Hours later, the sun was setting and they were out in the woods, disrobing for the full moon's change. "Alright." Bran said, addressing the entire pack. "Everyone try to either pair up or stay within earshot of someone. I want us to keep tabs on each other with all of these rogue wolves running around." He stopped, closed his eyes, and sniffed the air; when he opened them again, his wolf had taken control.

After Bran's wolf surfaced, everyone else slowly started beginning to change. Anna didn't have to answer an alpha's call but even her wolf usually stirred when Bran called. She waited, dreading the change. Before long, she was the last one not in some stage of the change. She waited and waited for it to take her. Within half an hour, she was surrounded by enormous wolves, with her still human.

_"Something's wrong"_ she thought. She could still feel her wolf. She was there. She wasn't nearly as worried as Anna, about not changing. She didn't want to, but she'd never been able to will it away before. Her pack just stared at her, except for Charles who had taken up a spot directly in front of her, staring down the rest of the pack. It suddenly occurred to her that she probably looked a lot like dinner right about now. Anna actually tried to change as opposed to letting the moon take her. Nothing. She couldn't change. Behind her panic, she was thrilled. She had to calm down. These were not healthy emotions to have around a bunch of hungry werewolves. She calmed herself and said, "I can't shift. I don't know why but I can't. I'm going to go get back in the truck and wait for you guys to finish." she said slowly. She bent to pick up her clothes and inched herself backwards towards the truck, not looking directly at any of them. You don't turn your back on or do anything remotely resembling running from a wolf. Charles followed her and she had to shoo him away.

"I'll stay here until you get back, just in case it's a delayed shift or something. Go on." She ruffled his fur and waited on him to move then closed the truck door. She sat there and waited for the wolves to start their hunt somewhere far away from her. Once the wolves dispersed, worry started to settle heavily on her shoulders.

_Why can't I shift? Is something wrong with me? Why didn't I even feel the need to shift?_

"Calm down." Anna told herself. The last thing she needed was for her panic to seep through to her mate bond and then onto the pack bonds. They would figure it out. She leaned her seat back, covered up with her jacket and closed her eyes. The next thing she knew, daylight was breaking through the clouds and the pack was outside redressing after their run. Charles walked towards her, having only bothered to pull on pants. "How am I going to focus when he's like that?" Anna muttered to herself. A smile played across Charles's face. Of course, he heard me. Charles yanked the truck door open.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I don't know. I was waiting for the change to take me and it never did. So I tried to shift and I couldn't."

"You can't shift? What do you mean you can't?" Charles demanded, his face stricken with worry.

"Can't probably wasn't the best term for that." she said shyly. Charles cocked his brow at her. "Okay. It was a bad term for that. The better way to describe it would be, wouldn't. Like she just decided not to this time. I'm fine, really." Anna shrugged. Charles eyed her curiously.

"Okay but I still want you to let Samuel look at you." Charles conceded.

"Alright but I'm telling you feel fine." And she did feel pretty normal, aside from the deep, foreboding feeling she had; Telling her that whatever this was, it wasn't in her control.


	5. What do you say

_"What do you say in a moment like this? When you can't find the words, oh, to tell it like it is."_

_-Reba McEntire, What do you say_

**Chapter 5**

"You seem perfectly healthy to me." Samuel said, writing in a chart. "I've got some tests running now but unless something comes up that we don't know about, you're fine. Anything else weird for you, as of late?"

"Not really. I told Charles I felt fine. There was no reason to bring you all the way here from your business in Washington." Anna replied.

Samuel shook his head and chuckled. "Charles can be stubborn but this is definitely something worthy of calling me. It seems to me like something's sedating your wolf. And Charles fears that it has something to do with these rogues."

Anna was suddenly quite worried herself. The idea of this being connected to the other had crossed her mind, but Charles thinking it kind of gave the idea merit. She shook her head. "This is the first thing I've experienced that was out of the ordinary."

"Alright. Let me know if anything else odd happens or if anything changes. Those test results should be back in a couple of days." Samuel closed his clipboard, patted Anna on the shoulder and walked out. If Samuel didn't feel like there was anything to worry about, then there probably wasn't. Besides, there were much more important issues than her not being able to shift. She hoped.

Charles raked his fingers through his hair, pacing back and forth across the living room floor. "You're gonna wear a hole in the floor if you keep that up." Anna said from the couch next to him.

"What do you expect me to do? Just sit and wait? You've gone an entire full moon cycle and you still can't change!" He stopped and turned to her, considering the fact that she might not know what would happen if she couldn't change. "It's been nearly a week and you haven't changed. Do you know what happens when one of us goes too long in human form? We go mad. Stark-raving mad. Do you think I want that to happen?" He trembled with frustration. She walked to him and placed her hand on his chest, keeping her eyes level with her hands. "Shhh. You're forgetting that my wolf has been totally at peace. That's not really a dangerous place to be. We need to be concerned with ones that pose a threat." She stood on her toes and brushed her lips against his.

She had just started lowering herself back down when he grabbed her face with one hand and the back of her left thigh with the other. Suddenly, she was wrapped around his waist and shoulders, passionately kissing him. She was out of breath when she pulled away. She only did so because her phone rang. She started to just ignore it but when she looked at the caller ID she knew she needed to answer it. "Hello, Samuel." she breathed. She swore she heard a chuckle from him. With his next words, she knew she had. "Sorry for interrupting but you two might wanna get down here."

"Alright." she gruffed since Charles had carried her over and plopped her on the couch when he'd heard why Samuel had called. "We'll be right there." she said, irritated.

Fifteen minutes later and many of Anna's protests later, they were pulling into Bran's house which housed Samuel's temporary office. Bran and Samuel were already in the exam room when they walked in. He looked at her with what looked like either concern or pity. She didn't like either possibility.

"What is it?" Charles snapped. Short and to the point, that was Charles.

"Well, brother, I don't really know how you're going to take this or whether or not be concerned really."

"Just spit it out, Samuel."

"Well, it seems like something has made her wolf dormant. It's not that she can't change, the wolf doesn't want to." He paused. "Don't you see? This is good news! It's in her blood. It's her own body soothing the wolf into sedation."

"Why?"

"Well, that's the other reason I called you here."

He looked from Anna to Charles and then handed Anna a piece of paper. She looked down and studied the page in her lap. Her face paled and she just sat in shock. Charles walked over and snatched the page from Anna, shooting a look at the other males in the room. He began to read it and he soon realized what had caused Anna's reaction. Samuel clapped Charles on the shoulder and said, "Congratulations... Daddy."

**I apologize for the shortness of this chapter but it was the best place to stop with where I'm going in chapter six. Which will make up for this one, I promise. Thanks for following. I will reply to all reviews that I can.**

**I've been super busy with my kids and school starting but with my older princess at school, I have more time to get things done. I'm gonna start my work on Heat of the Moment[the supernatural/sookie stackhouse crossover] this afternoon. That one is much more detailed so it takes me much longer to write. But as soon as I'm done with it, I will work on getting you your 6th chapter. HotM is so much more complex it's taking precedence over this one. Plus they have to wait much longer between chapters. Chapter six will be up in the next week though. As always, thanks for your patience and reviews.**


	6. She wouldn't be gone

**[The characters of the Mercyverse do not belong to me. They belong to Patricia Briggs.]**

_" I wouldn't be driving like hell, flying like crazy down the highway,_

_Calling everyone we know._

_Stopping any place she might be. Going any place she might go._

_Beating on the dash._

_Screaming out her name at the windshield, tears soaking up my face."_

_She wouldn't be gone, Blake Shelton._

**Chapter 6**

**APOV**

We rode home in silence. Neither of us daring to say what we were thinking. A baby? What are we supposed to do with that? We weren't ready for that at all. I don't whether to be excited or depressed. It does seem like a blessing. I hadn't had to change in two moons so maybe I won't have to? I didn't need to get myself too wrapped up in the idea. No female wolf ever carries to term. It's convenient that I'm not shifting but it's probably better that I assume that I'll shift some time in the next few months and that I'll lose it. Better to be over cautious than under prepared.

We finally pulled up to the house and we still weren't speaking. After an hour of Charles's silent brooding, my nerves had worn pretty thin. He slammed a few more cabinets in the kitchen and I decided to break the silence.

"What do you want for dinner?" I asked.

"I don't care." he bit out. I sighed, exasperated.

"What is it, Charles? I know this isn't something we were prepared for, but it's not all that bad. Either we have a child or we don't. It's not the end of the world." I rambled out.

He scoffed at me. "How could we have been so careless? How could we let this happen?" he questioned, raking his hand through his hair.

"It's not that bad. I won't die if I lose it. Besides, I haven't been needing to shift. Maybe we'll actually be able to have it." I reasoned.

"Don't you think I've thought of that?! What makes you think I want a baby?!" he shouted back at me.

Okay, that hurt. He doesn't want children with me? After that, I couldn't stand to be in the same house with him anymore. So, I grabbed my coat and headed to talk things through with the only good friend I've made here... Sage.

I drove to Bran's. I assumed that Sage would be at Bran's since she'd really taken to Nathaniel and that's where he was staying. I pulled up to Bran's, took a deep breath and prepared myself leave from the warmth of the truck, to trudge back into the snow. I made my way out of the warm confines of the truck and up to Bran's front door. I shucked off my coat and stomped the snow off my boots.

I walked through the oddly quiet house. There was no telling where Bran was but he didn't seem to be there. I searched a few more rooms and didn't find Sage, Bran or Nathaniel. I figured I should probably run by her place. Pushing what I might walk in on to the back of my mind, I made my way back downstairs and towards the front door.

On my way out, I walked by Bran's office and heard someone talking. I walked to my coat, not wanting to eavesdrop on Bran. But then I heard a woman's voice and realized I really didn't want to hear it. I avoided Leah at every opportunity. But try as I might, I heard snippets of her conversation.

"Just do what you have to do." Leah said right before I walked out. _That was weird_, I thought.

"Oh well." I shrugged and got in the truck to head to Sage's place. I pulled up and there was Sage's car and another that I didn't recognize. I got out and went to knock on the door. Nathaniel opened it before I could so for a moment, I just stood there, holding my hand up like an idiot.

"Hello, Nate." I laughed finally.

"Heard you pull up, darlin'." he replied.

"Is Sage around?" I asked. But before he could answer, she bounded around the corner and scooped me up in a hug.

"Heyyyy... Sage." I breathed through embrace. She put me down and I stumbled backward. Nate snickered at me and I glared at him. He at least had the decency to appear embarrassed.

"So, what brings you over here?" Sage asked. To the point, I guess. I sighed and glanced from her to her companion. She seemed to pick up on my hint and asked him to busy himself elsewhere. She shooed him away and turned her attention back to me, expectantly. I blew out a breath and shifted from foot to foot. She just waited patiently for me to gather my thoughts and state my case.

"So... I got some interesting news today. And I'm not entirely sure how to handle it..." I finally got out.

"And that was?" she asked. The worried look on her face had me concerned.

"My wolf is lulling herself dormant. It's me, not some mysterious force." I said, looking at my feet.

Just then, Nate came through the living room. He walked between us, waved his hands dramatically towards me and said, "The force is strong with this one." We shot him matching menacing glares for eavesdropping. He put his hands up in surrender and started backing out of the room. But not before he finished with; "Such anger, young Skywalker."

I had to laugh at that one. "So, that's good news right? I'm missing the problem here."

"Well, that's what I came over to talk to you about. I'm pregnant."

Nate chose that moment to pop his head back around the doorway with a mouthful of pretzels. Sage shooed him again and shut the door behind her.

"Well, if you're not shifting then that's a good thing too. Right?" she asked, ushering me over to the couch.

We sat together and I filled her in on why that might not be that great and my fight with Charles. She soothed me and told me that Charles must've been acting out of fear or something else was bothering him. Werewolves would never turn down the possibility of someone being able to have children.

"There must be more to it than that. That's not like Charlie." she smiled, knowing I'd smile at her nickname for Charles.

I left feeling better than when I went in. Sage had that effect on people. I decided to run to the store and pick up some food to cook dinner for my husband. We'd figure it out.

I had just merged onto the highway when I first noticed the dark blue SUV merge with me. It wasn't until it followed me across two lanes, down my exit and down a side street that I started to worry. I breathed a breath of relief when it changed lanes to go around me. But then it came close enough to nearly bump me. Then it did actually scrape me. I swerved over to get away from it, thinking that they had to be drunk or something. I maneuvered the truck back on the road just for them to ram into me even harder. Twice more and I lost control.

I ended up with my front end in the ditch. I had just enough time to count my limbs and check for injuries before someone jerked open my door, threw a sack over my head, pulled me out of vehicle, and hit me in the head... hard.

**CPOV**

Dammit! Why did I snap at her like that? Like it's entirely her fault. I'm such an idiot. I kicked myself like that for a while before I finally calmed down. After pacing the floor over what I should do, I finally decided to go find Anna.

I went straight to Da's house. She would've went there to talk to Sage more than likely. I pulled up and smelled Anna faintly. So, I knew she must've been here relatively recently. I walked in and smelled a foul and obnoxious smell immediately. Ack, Leah.I found Da in his office, his fingers steepled under his chin and eyes closed. He smiled when he realized that it was me and sensed my emotions.

"Hey, Da. Have you seen Anna?" I asked.

"No. I haven't. Was she supposed to come by here?" he replied.

"No. Not exactly." I said, shaking my head. He cocked his brow at me in question.

"What's wrong, son?" he asked. Even though he probably knew full well at least the general idea of what my problem was. I was sure Samuel had filled him in. I just shook my head again and said, "Nothing."

I moved to walk back out and Da spoke. "Charles. Talk to me." His words weren't harsh or commanding but there was an undercurrent to them that forced me to turn back to him. I sighed and just decided to face the inevitable.

"It's Anna. She's not shifting." I said, only telling part of the truth.

"And? We knew this already. It's not hurting her and since her body is doing it, Samuel deemed her safe. Besides, she's an Omega. The same rules don't apply to her." he said reasonably. "Now, tell me what else is bothering you." I looked at him like I didn't know what he was talking about. "Don't look at me like that, Charles. What you said may have been part of what's bothering you, but that's not it. I can smell it."

I stood, shocked for a moment. I recovered quickly and said, "Well, Da... She's pregnant."

He smiled as understanding dawned his face. "Son, we all go through this. It comes with the gift of the wolf. She might even be able to carry it. You know this? Why is it bothering you so much?" he inquired. I didn't really know why. I knew I didn't want Anna to through that.

"I don't know, Da. I don't want Anna in pain." I said, even though as I said it, I knew that wasn't it. He smiled at me, stood from his chair and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Is this really about Anna?" he asked, rhetorically. "I have a feeling that Anna's taking this better than you are. She's stronger than you give her credit for. What is it, really?"

How does he do that? He always knows. I might as well tell him, I guess. "I don't know how to deal with it, Da. She's being so optimistic about it." I said, raking my hands through my hair.

"Is this some sort of flaw to you?" he asked calmly.

"No, of course not." I said, getting frustrated. "What am I going to with a child? I'm not a father. I'm a murderer?!" I shouted, my voice cracking.

"Do you think that's what Anna thinks?" he asked. I just shook my head. "And is that really what you think of yourself? You do what has to be done, Charles. You're a savior. An angel of mercy to those that crave death. But you are not a murderer. I've killed before. Did that make me any less of a father to you and Samuel?"

"No.." He was making a lot of sense. I stood quiet like that for a good five minutes before I turned to him and said, "You're right."

"Of course, I am. Now, what're you still doing here? I'm not having your baby."

I said goodbye to him and ran out the door. If she wasn't at Da's, she was at Sage's. I drove to Sage's place and went up to the door and knocked. Sage answered. "Hey, Charlie. What can I do you for?" she asked.

"Is Anna here?" I asked, looking around her for my wife.

"She was here but she left about an hour ago. Can you not find her?" she asked.

"No, apparently I can't. Did she say where she was going?"

"To the grocery store, I think."

"Alright. Thanks, Sage."

I jogged back down the sidewalk through the snow to my truck. I drove toward the local walmart, calling her cell phone.

"Dammit." I swore, tossing the phone in the seat next to me. She never answers that thing. I looked up just in time to see her black truck nose deep in the ditch. "Anna!" I jerked over to the shoulder of the road. I jumped out of the truck and ran to Anna's truck. Yanking the door open, I immediately smelled blood. Anna's blood.

When I looked on the ground at my feet, I saw why she wasn't answering her phone. Her purse and all its contents were scattered in the snow. While I took in my surroundings, I realized my worst fears and my world came crashing down around me.

Someone had taken my wife.

Anna was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**I've started picking back up on Anna & Charles. May switch over to Supernatural/Sookie at one point too. No promises. But you will get another A & O chapter within the next couple of days.**


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